Oct 7, 2023; London, United Kingdom; The NFL Shield logo at Tottenham Hotpsur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former NFL players to keep disability benefits

The NFL and the players association have come to an agreement that will allow players who receive disability benefits from the league to also receive Social Security benefits, the two sides announced Thursday.

The league and the NFL Players Association agreed as part of the collective bargaining agreement in 2020 to reduce the league-paid disability benefits by the amount the players received from the government. The new financial agreement was set to take effect in January 2024, delayed after pushback from affected retired players and some union leaders.

“The NFL was responsive to the NFLPA’s proposal and has agreed to make the necessary change to prevent those specific former players from having a reduction in this benefit,” the league and union said jointly.

“Our Executive Committee understands the importance and legacy of our union’s support of former players in need, and we are proud that we fought for a solution to preserve this benefit for former players who need it the most,” the NFLPA said in a statement Thursday.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the decision applies to the 400 or so players already in the retirement system. In the future, players ruled totally disabled by a doctor hired by the Social Security Administration will see their league benefits reduced by the amount of the government payout.

The Times said that while some of the players who receive pay for total disability get as much as $22,000 a month, most receive about half that. Those who Social Security doctors have determined qualify for payments receive $3,200 a month from the government.

–Field Level Media

Feb 8, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks to the media during a press conference at Phoenix Convention Center prior to Super Bowl LVII. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Ten ex-players sue NFL over disability program

Willis McGahee is one of 10 former NFL players suing the league, its board of trustees and commissioner Roger Goodell in federal court over its benefits plan, accusing them Thursday of a number of “unscrupulous tactics” to wrongfully avoid paying out disability claims.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in Baltimore in the U.S. District Court of Maryland and lays out what’s described as an “overly aggressive and disturbing pattern” of denying benefits for specious, subjective reasons, making it far more difficult for retired players to receive health care they need after playing in the NFL.

McGahee, a two-time Pro Bowl running back who played for the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns in his 10-year NFL career, is now 41 but told reporters in a virtual news conference that his physician said his arthritis comparable to an 80-year-old.

McGahee said he tried for six years to receive disability payments from the NFL and was denied last year.

“It’s time for me to step up, it’s time for other players to step up and say something,” McGahee told reporters. “We are not just going to sit back and just let it all fall down on us and take the beating.”

The other plaintiffs are Jason Alford, Daniel Loper, Michael McKenzie, Jamize Olawale, Alex Parsons, Charles Sims, Eric Smith, Joey Thomas and Lance Zeno.

Smith played seven seasons as a defensive back for the New York Jets and said in the lawsuit that he had 13 documented traumatic brain injuries in that time.

Smith shared Thursday that he has blacked out and woken up bleeding with “holes in the wall.”

“My wife and kids are crying,” he said. “I went down a dark path.”

The lawsuit is notable at the end of a season that saw Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffer multiple documented concussions — including one just days after he was cleared too soon from the league’s concussion protocol — and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffer cardiac arrest on the field of a game that was eventually abandoned.

One of the lawyers representing the players is Christopher Seeger, who in 2012 worked on the class-action lawsuit in which ex-players accused the NFL of not sufficiently protecting them from concussions and their related dangers. That case has been settled and has paid out more than $1 billion to affected retirees.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told Reuters in a statement that the disability plan in question has provided more than $330 million to eligible players, and that their standards were developed via consultation with experts in occupational, mental and physical health.

“The NFL-NFLPA disability plan is fair and administered by a professional staff overseen by a board comprised of an equal number of appointees of the NFL Players Association and the league, which includes retired players,” McCarthy wrote.

“This board reviews the activities of the office and operation of the benefit program, including every contested application for benefits, to ensure that retired players who are entitled to disability benefits receive them as intended.”

–Field Level Media

Aug 5, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, US; Miami Dolphins wide receivers coach Wes Welker walks on the field during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Ex-WR Wes Welker blasts NFL over disability benefits issue

Retired NFL wide receiver Wes Welker took to Twitter on Saturday to blast the NFL over its response to a claim he filed seeking disability benefits.

Welker, now on the coaching staff of the Miami Dolphins, shared a letter he received from the NFL that asked for evidence to prove surgeries he has undergone since retirement were related to on-field injuries.

“@NFL I don’t have the time or patience for this,” Welker wrote. “Been an employee of the NFL for 18 years and still going. This is bush league stuff!.”

The Disability Initial Claims Committee, according to the letter, set aside his application and asked Welker to provide more information, stating his application had a “lack of supportive documentation” regarding his surgeries.

“Specifically, there were no records reflecting that the surgeries were performed as a result of injuries sustained while playing in the NFL,” the letter reads, in part.

Welker was given a deadline of Oct. 10 to update his application.

Welker, 41, was a two-time All Pro and selected to five Pro Bowls, all with the New England Patriots. He sustained a variety of injuries during his career, including to his back and a torn left ACL and MCL, as well as multiple concussions.

He played 12 NFL seasons from 2004-15 with the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams and Patriots. In 175 games (102 starts), Welker caught 903 passes for 9,924 yards and 50 touchdowns.

–Field Level Media